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Rare Books Blog

The Rare Book Collection is excited to announce that it now has its own section in the Lillian Goldman Law Library’s eYLS Repository. Titled Yale Law Special Collections, it contains digitized rare books and manuscripts from the Rare Book Collection. You can download, print, or just view them online by visiting the eYLS Repository.

Stay tuned for announcements of additions to our online collection, on these and other topics.

This material is brought to you free of charge and free of restrictions. We only ask that, as a courtesy, you cite the Rare Book Collection, Lillian Goldman Law Library, as the source, and that you notify us if you plan to publish images.

Michael von der Linn’s March 27 talk, “From Litchfield to Yale: Footnotes to the Exhibit,” is now available online in the Lillian Goldman Law Library’s Vimeo channel. Von der Linn, Manager of the Antiquarian Book Department at The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., is guest curator of the Yale Law Library’s current exhibition, “From Litchfield to Yale: Law Schools in Connecticut, 1782-1843.”

In his talk, von der Linn focused on three documents relating to the early history of the New Haven Law School, which eventually became the Yale Law School. One is an Aug. 6, 1842 letter from Samuel J. Hitchcock to the Yale Corporation requesting permission for the school to grant the LL.B. degree, which you can view here (the third image).

The second document is a brief article from the Nov. 13, 1824 issue of The Religious Intelligencer, a New Haven newspaper:

“NEW HAVEN LAW SCHOOL.

“The Law School established in this city, by Seth P. Staples, Esq. will hereafter be conducted by the Hon. David Daggett and S.J. Hitchcock, Esqs. Mr. Staples having removed to the city of New York. From the success of this school, which has been growing in reputation, and increasing in numbers ever since its establishment; – from the well known reputation of the gentlemen who are now at the head of it; and from the many literary and social advantages which may be enjoyed in New Haven, we have no doubt that it will soon be equal, if not superior, to any similar institution in this country.”

Michael von der Linn, lead curator of our current exhibit, “From Litchfield to Yale: Law Schools in Connecticut, 1782–1843,” will be speaking about the exhibit on April 19 at the Litchfield Historical Society in Litchfield, Connecticut. In his talk, von der Linn will explore how Sir William Blackstone’s seminal Commentaries on the Laws of England provided a syllabus for Judge Tapping Reeve, the founder of the Litchfield Law School. He will also compare examples from Book 1 of the Commentaries with Reeve’s own radical rewriting of that book, The Law of Baron and Femme (1816), and to show how Reeve revised Blackstone for a post-Revolutionary legal community.

The talk is part of the society’s “Lunch and Learn” series. The talk will begin at 12 noon on Friday, April 19, at the Litchfield History Museum, 7 South Street, Litchfield, CT. There is a $5 recommended donation for this program. Those wishing to attend are asked register by calling (860) 567-4501 or emailing .

The Yale Law Library Rare Books Blog turns five years old today, a good occasion for marking highlights and saying “thank you.”

Far and away the most popular posting of the last five years is “Holy diploma! Is Batman a Yale Law School alumnus?” (3 Oct. 2010), a byproduct of our exhibit, “Superheroes in Court! Lawyers, Law and Comic Books.” To date, it has been viewed 16,481 times. Thank you, Batman fans!